Sealing Criminal Records in Florida

A criminal record sealing allows you to have the court order that your criminal record related to an arrest or conviction be sealed and therefore hidden from public viewing. Generally, sealed criminal court records appear nonexistent to everyone except criminal justice agencies and the court system.

Historically criminal court records were actually placed in an envelope which was secured with a wax seal. This wax seal meant that the records were not to be viewable, or shown to, the public. Currently, courts and criminal justice agencies physically identify sealed records with a red stamp that indicated the records are sealed and not to be shown to the public. Additionally, electronic records are flagged so that they are not revealed to the public. While sealing your criminal record is not as secure as an expungement, court and law enforcement personnel can be charged with a misdemeanor of the first degree if they disclose the existence of a sealed criminal record.

Once a court orders a criminal record history to be sealed, the court not only seals its records, but also orders that records containing information about the charges held by all criminal justice agencies be sealed. The order to seal cover courts in Florida, criminal justice agencies in Florida, and criminal records contained in the file of any court or agency who has a copy of your criminal record , including the FBI and all other law-enforcement agencies known to possess such records.

Effect of a Criminal Records Sealing

After having your criminal record sealed, it is confidential and unavailable to the general public, future employers, or other inquiring entities. Once a criminal record is sealed, all of the proceedings in it are treated as if they never occurred.

However, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is authorized to disclose the existence, but not the contents, of a criminal history record that has been sealed if you are seeking employment, membership, or licensure with any of the following:

  1. A Criminal Justice Agency
  2. The Florida Bar
  3. The Department of Children and Family Services
  4. The Department of Juvenile Justice
  5. A contractor or licensee in a sensitive position having direct contact with children
  6. The Department of Education
  7. Any public or private school
  8. A local government agency that licenses child care facilities

Right to Deny

After having your record sealed, you are allowed to lawfully deny or fail to acknowledge the arrests or conviction covered by the expungement. Persons may then properly and lawfully answer any questions about the arrest, acquittal, conviction etc., as if they never happened. For example, it is OK in a job interview or even under oath to deny a sealed conviction.

Nevertheless, there are also limited exceptions to this right to deny or acknowledge the arrests or conviction related to the sealing. If asked, you must acknowledge your arrest or conviction if you are:

  1. A candidate for employment with a criminal justice agency;
  2. A defendant in a criminal prosecution;
  3. Concurrently or subsequently petitioning for to have another unrelated criminal episode sealed or expunged ;
  4. A candidate for admission to The Florida Bar;
  5. Seeking to be employed, licensed by, or contracted with:
    • The Department of Children and Family Services
    • The Department of Juvenile Justice
    • A sensitive position having direct contact with children
    • The Department of Education
    • Any public or private school
    • A local government agency that licenses child care facilities

Eligibility and Other Questions

To determine if you are eligible to petition the court to have your criminal records sealed please visit the eligibility checklist, or contact us if you already know that you are eligible and would like to get the sealing process started.

Florida criminal records history sealing law is rather complicated and overlaps considerably with Florida criminal records history expungement law. If you have further questions that you still need answered, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions section.

Contact Criminal Defense Lawyer Richard Hornsby

If you are ready to retain a lawyer to petition to have your record sealed, contact Orlando Expungement Lawyer Richard Hornsby for a free initial consultation.